


Haikyuu: Arts School!

by finnbingus



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Art School, Fluff, High School, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, POV Tsukishima Kei, POV Yamaguchi Tadashi, Sharing a Room, Slow Burn, Trans Character, Trans Kozume Kenma, Trans Male Character, Trans Yamaguchi Tadashi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:14:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28442991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finnbingus/pseuds/finnbingus
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	1. Roommate

It would be an understatement to say that Yamaguchi Tadashi was nervous to start at his new high school. This was his third time transferring to a new school in the past two years because of his mom’s stupid job as a digital marketer. She was an extremely busy woman who was forced to move around a lot for work, and Yamaguchi, being a minor, was obligated to follow. That’s what prompted her decision to send her son to a boarding school. This school was different, however, as it was geared towards the arts. Yamaguchi was going to vocal training.

“I know it’s a more permanent change, honey,” his mother said as she smoothed out the crinkles in his new school uniform, “But this will make it easier on the both of us. Think about it this way: you won’t have to transfer schools again until you head off to university.”

That still seemed so far off, despite only being one year away. He tugged at the collar of his shirt anxiously. He had no idea what to expect from the kids if their uniforms were this fancy—a maroon blazer and grey slacks, black dress shoes and a tie. He couldn’t remember dressing this sophisticated at any point in his life, much less to attend school.

“Again, I’m sorry I can’t drive you today. There’s a meeting I’ve gotta attend.”

“Mom, I’m old enough to take the bus on my own, you know.”

“I know that darling, it’s just…as a mother, I want to be there to send you off to your new school. You won’t be home until winter break.” Yamaguchi didn’t understand why his mom suddenly cared so much. It’s not like she took the time to attend any of the gigs he played, nor did she ever spend time with her son. She was either busy with work or ‘too drained’ to go out.

He did try to understand his mom, really. But after a certain point his understanding became this: she would always choose work over him. And that was fine. But he still felt a pang in his heart whenever he went up on stage and searched the crowd for her face to no avail.

So, yeah, taking the bus was nothing.

His mother’s bluetooth piece in her ear blinked, signaling an incoming call. “Okay sweets, I’ve gotta take this. Have fun, make friends, stay on top of school, all that.” She pulled him to her chest and ruffled his hair.

“Hey!”

She planted a dry kiss on his head. “I love you.”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah.” Neither of them needed to clarify what she was sorry for. She seemed to know. _So why don’t you choose me_ ? Yamaguchi thought bitterly, then pushed it aside. _Selfish. I’m being selfish_.

“Bye, I love you!” she called out as he slipped his backpack over his shoulder and headed out the front door of their apartment.

The air was crisp and refreshing as he headed toward his bus stop that would take him to his new school. He felt a tightness in his chest. Anxiety was beginning to take hold. _Deep breaths_ , he thought to himself as he made his way to the bus stop. The worst outcome of this day would be him having a panic attack in the middle of class and throwing up. If anyone asked, he’d quickly deny it, but this had actually happened once before in middle school. But he did his best to push those memories out of his brain. He could feel the nausea creeping up.

There was already a kid waiting at the bus stop. He was tall and lanky, with square glasses and tousled blonde hair. White headphones hung around his neck. It took Yamaguchi a moment to realize he was wearing the same school uniform as him.

What were the chances?

The boy was invested in a book, so Yamaguchi sat wordlessly on one of the cold seats at the stop. He fiddled with his hands anxiously. Should he say something? What would he even say? Ten minutes of silence passed between them. God, it was agonizing. Yamaguchi could feel a trickle of sweat on his neck. He licked his dry lips.

He was going to do it. He was going to say something.

“H—”

The bus approached them and stopped with a squeaky groan, cutting him off.

The blonde boy looked up from his book finally. “Bus is here,” he muttered, and boarded the bus. Yamaguchi watched him before remembering that this was his bus, too, and bounded up the steps before the doors shut behind him. The blonde was sitting in the back row, his nose in his book again. Yamaguchi sighed. So much for talking to him.

He put his earbuds in then, scrolling through his Spotify before selecting one of his original songs. It was the one he was most proud of. To be fair, there were only two. He was well versed in covers, but he'd only just begun to experiment with original music. So far, he was having fun. Though, Yamaguchi couldn’t deny that it was a little stressful, having the pressure of coming up with lyrics on his own.

The sound of guitar picking filled his ears, and he leaned back in his seat with a sigh. The bus ride to his new school was about twenty minutes, meaning he had some time to relax before heading into the arena. He tried to calm the growing anxiety in his chest, to no avail. It looked like his anxiety and nausea would be with him for the better part of the day.

* * *

The moment he stepped off the bus, Yamaguchi’s heart seized in his chest. Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead.

Students were filtering in and out of the front doors of the school, pushing and shoving to get through the crowd. It was a blur of maroon blazers. Kids were laughing, talking, whispering into each other’s ears. It was all so _loud_. Yamaguchi took a deep breath before plunging into the crowd. He did his best to weave around and through the various huddled groups, but he couldn’t avoid getting shoved around. He made his way to the administration office where he was given a map, schedule, and keys to his dorm. The woman at the desk informed him that his boxes of possessions had already been brought to his room.

The school itself, he learned when he received a map, consisted of six buildings. One for dorms, one for the cafeteria and main offices, one for sciences and math, one for humanities classes, one for arts, and one gym.

Yamaguchi set off to the third floor of the dormitories. Room 324. He knocked before entering. It was a nice size; big enough to fit two beds on either side of the room comfortably as well as a shared double desk between them. To the right was a closet and the entrance to a private bathroom. Yamaguchi was relieved he wouldn’t have to take showers in a communal bathroom.

A tall blonde boy was standing over the left bed, folding his clothes. He looked up to meet Yamaguchi’s gaze.

Yamaguchi suddenly realized he was the boy from the bus stop. The blonde, however, didn’t seem to remember him.

“I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi,” Yamaguchi said, extending a shaky hand. The boy paused before shaking it.

“Tsukishima Kei.”

A beat of silence. “So, I guess we’re roommates then?” Yamaguchi said. He instantly cringed. _What a stupid thing to say, of course we’re roommates_!

Tsukishima didn’t seem to notice, or care. “Do you snore?” he asked suddenly.

“I, uh…” _Huh? Do I snore_?

“Because I can’t stand people who snore. Or move in their sleep. It wakes me up.”

Yamaguchi paused to see if he was serious before clearing his throat. “Uh, I’ll do my best not to do those things, then.”

The blonde nodded before resuming unpacking his figurines. He had a lot of dinosaur figures, Yamaguchi noticed, and it looked like he had a few Nendoroids too.

“You collect Nendoroids? Those are so cool!” he commented, unable to help himself.

Tsukishima blushed. “Yeah. I’ve only got a few though, since they’re kinda expensive.”

“My friend has a ton. He likes stuff like this, too. He’s such a nerd.” Shit! Yamaguchi just accidentally called his new roommate who he just met a nerd! He stammered, “I mean, uh, he likes action figures and stuff like you do. Not saying you’re a nerd. Well, he is, but not you. Unless you want to be, or you’re like a self-identified nerd or something. Um.” He was red in the face now. He itched at the back of his neck, a nervous habit he’d picked up over the years.

A smile tugged at Tsukishima’s lips. It was faint, but it was there and it made Yamaguchi feel warm for some reason. “It’s cool. Yeah, I guess I am kind of a nerd.” He laughed. “What can I say, I like lame stuff.”

“It’s not lame. I think you’re cool.” Yamaguchi instantly regretted his choice of words. They’d only just met, for heaven’s sake!

Tsukishima turned red. “Yeah, well.” It didn’t seem like he intended on finishing. He turned back to his boxes. They spent the next hour unpacking their stuff in silence. To Yamaguchi’s surprise, it wasn’t unbearable. He found himself humming as he went along, folding his clothes and hanging photos of his friends on the barren walls. He vowed to make their room more homelike. By the time they were done, Tsukki’s walls were covered in movie and anime posters and prints of gigantic dinosaurs. He even had a fuzzy green stuffed dinosaur on his bed, which Yamaguchi couldn’t help but find cute. He had also filled his bookshelf entirely with novels and the surface of his dresser with figurines. His side of the room was much neater than Yamaguchi’s, whose comforter was thrown haphazardly on the bed. He reached to straighten one of the framed photos on the wall.

There was a knock at the door. “I-I’ll get it,” stammered Yamaguchi. Geez, why did his voice sound like that?

He opened the door to find a boy with bright orange hair standing with his hands on his hips and a wide grin on his face. “So, you’re the new transfer student?”

There was no malice in his voice, but Yamaguchi shrunk away from the shorter boy all the same. “Uh, yeah,” he mumbled.

“Cool! I’m Hinata Shoyo!”  
“Yamaguchi…Tadashi…”

Hinata pulled another short boy into view. He must have been hiding on the other side of the door. His hair was black and the top and blonde at the bottom, and he was wearing comfy gym clothes.

“This is Kenma,” Hinata said, beaming. Kenma averted his eyes.

“Hi.”

Yamaguchi forced a smile. “Hey. Um, how did you guys find my room?”

Hinata grinned. “I checked the roster for any unfamiliar names and their assigned rooms. Of course, I had to drag Kenma with me.” He noticed Tsukishima in the background. “Hey, Tsukki! Long time no see! How was your summer?”

“Fine.” The blonde haired boy looked uncomfortable. Or was he annoyed?

Hinata didn’t seem to hear him. “That’s cool. Kenma and I played lots of beach volleyball. We also had lots of—”

“We’re gonna get going now!” Kenma exclaimed, clamping his hand over Hinata’s mouth. Kenma dragged him away with a nervous smile.

Yamaguchi decided to head to the cafeteria. It was crowded with students. The smell of spaghetti filled the air, as that was on the menu that night. He wrinkled his nose. It was all too much. The constant chatter in his ears, the stench of overcooked pasta and tomatoes, the fact that he had no one to sit with and nowhere to go. His ears rung. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest and that nervous sensation in his stomach. He turned to go—

and bumped right into a certain blonde.

“Agh! I’m so sorry!” Yamaguchi yelped, backing away.

Tsukishima glared at him “It’s fine,” he muttered. He noticed how fidgety Yamaguchi was. “You good?

Yamaguchi couldn’t hear him over the loud table beside them. “What?”

The blonde rolled his eyes. He grabbed him by the arm and dragged him forward, weaving between the tables until they stepped into the hallway, which was thankfully much quieter.

He let go of his arm quickly. “You look all red,” he said bluntly.

Yamaguchi held his hands up to his cheeks. Yep, he was burning hot. “I, uh, get anxious. I don’t really like big crowds,” he mumbled, averting his eyes. “I think I’m just gonna go to bed.”

POV: TSUKISHIMA

Tsukishima watched Yamaguchi walk up the stairs to the boys’ dormitory. He wiped his glasses. It was understandable why Yamaguchi got uncomfortable in the cafeteria; the noise, the smells, all of the people, were all so overwhelming. He had been at the school long enough to know he preferred to eat alone in his dorm.

He headed to the nearby vending machine and bought two cup o’ noodles containers before heading upstairs. It was appropriate dorm food.

Yamaguchi was in his bed, facing the wall. He didn’t say anything when Tsukishima entered the room, nor did he turn over when the blonde set down a cup of steaming ramen on his nightstand. Tsukishima wondered if he was asleep already.

He spent the rest of the night eating and scrolling through his phone before deciding to take a shower. It felt good to let the hot water run over his body. Did Yamaguchi remember him from the bus stop? He doubted it. So why did he, then? In his defense, he had a face that was hard to forget. His smudged eyeliner made his eyes ‘pop’ as they say, and his septum piercing made him look slightly intimidating, in an “I’m cooler than you” type of way. Tsukishima also couldn’t help but notice all of his ear piercings. He had a lot of them, yet they didn’t appear cluttered. His industrial piercing also gave him extra cool points.

When he got out of the shower, Yamaguchi was still turned over. His breathing had softened. Perhaps he really was asleep.

He did notice, however, the cup of instant ramen was empty. He smiled.


	2. flower crowns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just some cute moments and very mild angst

It was a week later. The week had gone by in a blur. Classes were stressful, the food was bad, and Yamaguchi and Tsukishima’s relationship continued to blossom. It didn’t seem like the blonde had many friends. They’d fallen into the habit of walking each other to class, eating dinner together in their dorm, studying together, and spending time outside on the grass in silence, just enjoying each other’s company. Yamaguchi was sensing small changes in himself. The way his stomach tensed up when he was around Tsukishima, the butterflies he felt whenever he would say his name, the way his palms would get sweaty whenever Tsukishima got close. He knew what these signs meant, but it didn’t matter. Tsukishima didn’t like guys.

Did he?

Yamaguchi turned over to find that Tsukishima had already woken up and was tying his shoes. He was dressed in running shorts and a T-shirt. “Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?”

Yamaguchi sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “No. You woke up early, though. Where are you going?”

“Oh…I usually run in the morning, but it’s been pretty wet out. The weather’s nicer today.”

Yamaguchi realized he wasn’t wearing his binder and instantly hugged his knees to his chest. “That’s cool, uh, I’m gonna change,” he muttered quickly before stumbling into the bathroom. He heard Tsukishima shut the door as he left.

Yamaguchi let out a sigh. He wondered how his roommate would react if he came out to him as trans. He knew he'd want to tell him eventually. He had no shame in it. The problem was, he was terrified. After the reaction his freshman year friends had, he became extra wary of who he told. He winced, remembering the look his ex best friend gave him when he came out to him as trans. Purely disgusted. Loathsome, even.

He decided not to think about it. After all, it was in the past. The two of them hadn't spoken in years, and he didn't exactly intend on reaching out. Perhaps Tsukishima would be different. Perhaps the fear he felt in his chest was for nothing. _Don't get ahead of yourself,_ he thought bitterly, _you don't even know the guy._

He had classes in an hour and a half, but it couldn’t hurt to get ready early. He applied some smudged eyeliner and contour before pulling on his wrinkled uniform. Looking in the mirror, he frowned. How he despised his freckles, few as there were. With a heavy sigh, he flopped back down on his bed and began mindlessly scrolling through his phone.

His roommate returned 40 minutes later, panting, his shirt soaked through with sweat. “Hey,” he said breathlessly. “Do you wanna walk to the cafeteria together? I just gotta shower first.”

Yamaguchi nodded. He was looking everywhere but at Tsukishima. He couldn’t help but find the boy attractive, even while he was sweating buckets.

After his shower, they walked to one of the vending machines and grabbed clif bars for breakfast. Then they got coffee, as usual. Tsukishima ordered his with cream and sugar. Yamaguchi ordered iced coffee, no sweetener. Ever since their first time grabbing breakfast together, Tsukishima never stopped teasing Yamaguchi for drinking iced coffee.

“It’s weird,” he’d say, “It’s like drinking hot ice cream.”

“That doesn’t even make sense!” Yamaguchi protested. They found a bench to sit at. It appeared the harsh grey weather from that week was finally starting to let up. The clouds were beginning to part for the sun’s rays to shine down on the Karasuno campus.

Then they continued their routine where Tsukishima would drop Yamaguchi off at class because it was on the way to the sciences building. “You don’t need to walk me,” Yamaguchi would say, but Tsukishima always responded with something along the lines of, “I like walking with you, dumbass. You’re nice to talk to.” Needless to say, compliments like that left Yamaguchi feeling woozy for the rest of the day. (Even though their delivery could be a bit harsh)

They were walking back from their last class of the day when they spotted Hinata, easily identifiable by his fiery locks, sitting on the grassy hill that overlooked the tennis courts. The red head was sitting cross legged on the grass with Kenma’s head in his lap, braiding his medium length hair. They were both giggling. When he caught sight of them, he waved them over. “Come, sit with us for a while,” he said, patting the spot of grass beside him.

Yamaguchi looked to Tsukishima, who shrugged. They sat down. Thankfully, the grass wasn’t wet. Yamaguchi stretched out his legs and sighed, closing his eyes. The sun felt nice on his skin after the week of wet and overcast weather.

Hinata was struggling to tie two daisies together, his tongue poking out between his lips. Yamaguchi smiled as he plucked a few for himself and got to work, weaving them together until they began to form a chain. He could feel eyes on him. He turned to Tsukishima, who looked away quickly. A light blush dusted his cheeks. Yamaguchi returned to his flower chain as Hinata talked about dance, which he learned was the art he specialized in. He and Kenma seemed to be lost in their own world, though it didn’t make Yamaguchi uncomfortable. A wave of loneliness washed over him as he watched Hinata trace his fingers down the sides of Kenma’s face, leaning down to whisper something that made the other boy turn pink.

Tsukishima rummaged in his bag before emerging with a sketchpad and a pack of different labeled pencils.

“I-I didn’t know you liked to draw,” Yamaguchi mumbled, not looking up from his flower chain.

“I’m in the architecture program,” Tsukishima said quietly. His pencil moved across the paper in broad, lazy strokes. Yamaguchi wondered what he was drawing. “But I like to draw things other than structures, too.”

Yamaguchi plucked another daisy. “I’ve always wanted to be able to draw. My sister used to paint, but she went off to college so we don’t see each other much anymore.”

Tsukishima wrinkled his nose. “I’ve never liked painting. Too messy. Stinky, too.” Yamaguchi laughed lightly. They continued on their projects in a comfortable silence after that, though Yamaguchi would occasionally start humming, then stop himself once he realized what he was doing.

He connected the final daisy and made the chain into a neat crown. “There,” he said happily, turning to Tsukishima. “May I?”

Tsukishima reddened. “Uh—sure.” He bowed his head so Yamaguchi could put the flower crown on him, causing his glasses to slip off his nose.

Yamaguchi leaned forward to catch them. Making sure not to touch the lenses, he slid them gently back onto Tsukishima’s face. His hands brushed against the boy’s cheeks, sending a shiver through Yamaguchi’s body. The blonde boy looked away, blushing fiercely. “Thanks,” he muttered.

Yamaguchi pulled back. He smiled and cleared his throat. “Now I have to make myself a crown so we match!”

Tsukishima smiled slightly. It made Yamaguchi’s insides feel funny for some reason, but he brushed it aside.

“Hold on,” said Hinata, “I didn’t know you were making people flower crowns! Can I have one, Yamaguchi?”

Yamaguchi grinned. “Of course.” They spent the rest of the afternoon making flower crowns and chatting. Yamaguchi learned that Kenma was in the video game developing program, which he thought sounded pretty complicated. He also learned that he and Hinata were dating. “I figured as much,” he said when they told him. Tsukishima stayed silent for most of the time, occasionally nodding or humming in agreement. Yamaguchi turned to see what he was drawing.

It was a pair of hands. Slender fingers held together two ends of a flower crown, tying them together. The nails were painted black, like Yamaguchi’s, only the polish wasn’t chipped. Light freckles dusted the hands. Though it was clearly a rough sketch, Yamaguchi was very impressed.

Tsukishima noticed him looking and turned pink. “I-I used you as a reference. Sorry,” he mumbled, looking away. Yamaguchi looked at him in awe.

“No one’s ever done that before,” he whispered. “I love it.”

“You can have it, if you want,” the blonde said. He gently tore it out of the sketchbook and handed it to Yamaguchi, who took it in his hands gently. He didn’t want to smudge the pencil.

He didn’t know what to say. Never in a million years would he have dreamed that such a gorgeous boy would draw him weaving a flower crown and give it to him. Never in a million years would he have put a flower crown on a cute boy’s head, put his glasses on for him. Never in a million years…

“Yamaguchi, how’s that flower crown coming along?” asked Hinata, grinning slyly. “Or should we leave you two to it?”

Kenma pinched his chest.

“Ow!” Hinata yelped.

Tsukishima stood suddenly. “I’ve gotta do some homework,” he said quickly. He grabbed his things and left without a word. Yamaguchi watched him go.

“Great, Shoyo, you made blondie mad,” mumbled Kenma.

“Whaaa? What did I do?”

Kenma rolled his eyes. “Not everyone is comfortable being close. With other guys. Like that.” He looked pointedly at Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi suddenly understood where the conversation was heading. He cleared his throat. “Uh, I’m gonna go too. See ya!” He stood and brushed the grass off his uniform. He considered heading back to his dorm, but after the thing with Tsukishima, he thought better of it. He decided to explore the grounds. He examined his map of the school, locating a pond on the east side of the campus. He decided to walk there as the sun began to set.

There were fewer people on this side of the campus, and the grass wasn’t kept so short. It tickled him through his slacks as he trudged through the soft mud in his converse. He enjoyed the silence that accompanied being alone. It allowed for him to sort through his jumbled thoughts. He looked at the drawing in his hands. _His_ hands, in his hands. He hugged the sketch to his chest. He couldn’t express this feeling. It was…warm. Fluttery. Indescribably nice. He continued down the path to the pond. It was growing slightly darker now. He hoped he’d have time to get at least some homework done tonight.

When he arrived at the pond, he came to a stop. The scene before him was absolutely beautiful. Willow trees and daisy infested grass surrounded a glistening black pond. There were no lamps, so it was a bit dark, but he could still make out the long branches swaying gently in the wind. In the middle of the meadow was a blonde boy wearing a flower crown, sitting by the pond’s edge with his knees hugged to his chest and his head down. Yamaguchi hesitated. Was it space that Tsukishima wanted? Well, why would he? It wasn’t like anything happened between them…right?

“If you’re gonna sit, sit,” the boy muttered, his head still bowed. “But don’t just stand there staring like an idiot.”

Yamaguchi gulped. He made his way to sit down beside the boy. Their shoulders brushed. He scooted away a bit to give Tsukishima some space, since it seemed like that’s what he wanted. Yamaguchi pulled the unfinished daisy chain from his pocket and resumed his work, methodically plucking daisies and weaving their stems together as the heavy silence dragged on.

Tsukishima looked up suddenly. His eyes looked a little puffy, a bit red. Had he been crying?

“What,” he snapped.

Yamaguchi looked down. “Nothing.” He paused. “Are you okay?”

Tsukishima shrugged. “I’m fine. That redhead just gets to me sometimes.” He sighed and looked up at the sky, which glowed pink and purple. Sunset. “I like the flower crown you gave me. I really do.”

“It looks good on you,” Yamaguchi said before he could stop himself. “Like…you're a prince or something.” He blushed. _What a stupid thing to say_ , he chided himself.

Tsukishima laughed. God, Yamaguchi would never grow tired of that sound. “What, a flower prince?”

“Yeah.”

“Who’s the nerd now?”

Yamaguchi grinned. “Still you.” He nudged him playfully with his shoulder. Tsukishima nudged him back. Suddenly they were shoving each other roughly, play fighting, and Yamaguchi moved his foot to get a better angle—

A cold sensation ran up his calf. “Shit!” he exclaimed, scrambling backwards. He had just stuck his foot right in the pond.

Tsukishima laughed. An unfiltered, throaty noise. Yamaguchi had never heard him laugh like that before. Then again, they’d only known each other a week.

“Asshole,” he muttered.

Tsukishima was wiping away tears of laughter. “I’m sorry,” he said breathlessly, “But you just stuck your foot in a pond.” He was overcome with another bout of laughter. Watching Yamaguchi shake out his shoe, he laughed even harder.

“Yeah, yeah. Get it all out now.” Yamaguchi was pretending to be mad, but he was grinning. He loved seeing his roommate laugh like this. He loved his warm smile. When Tsukishima was finally able to calm down, Yamaguchi asked him a question. “Will you show me how to draw sometime?”

Tsukishima glanced up at him. He was propped up on his elbow now instead of curled into a ball. “What do you mean? Like, guide your hands or something?”

Yamaguchi blushed at the thought of Tsukishima’s hands on his. “Something like that,” he said quietly.

There was a pause. “Yeah.” Yamaguchi held his gaze. He longed to reach out and touch the boy's face. Instead, he fiddled with his unfinished flower crown. He plucked the final daisy and connected it to the chain easily before tying the ends. He lowered it onto his head.  
“Ta-da! What do you think?”

Tsukishima said nothing for a while. He simply stared at Yamaguchi, whose face faltered. “I think,” he mumbled finally, leaning in slightly, “You look really good. Like a flower prince.” Yamaguchi swallowed. Their faces were inches apart. He could easily close the gap, but he stopped himself. He didn’t know if that was what Tsukishima wanted.

It seemed it wasn’t.

“We should probably get dinner now if we wanna get any work done tonight.” Tsukishima hopped to his feet and held a hand out to Yamaguchi, who took it gently. _His hands are so warm_ , he thought to himself, blushing. Their hands stayed connected for longer than was needed. The contact was nice. Tsukishima was the one who finally let his hand fall to his side. They walked to the cafeteria in silence.

There were fewer students inside today, probably because it was friday and they were allowed to leave the campus for dinner. They grabbed sandwiches from the ready-made section and headed outside to their dorm building.

“Since it’s Friday do you want to watch a movie or something?” Yamaguchi blurted out once they were in their room. “I don’t want to think about homework right now.”

Tsukishima shrugged. “Sure.” They dropped their backpacks and shuffled over to Tsukishima’s bed, which was kept much neater than Yamaguchi’s. He cringed at the clothes strewn across his own bed.

The bed was a twin, clearly meant for one person. Tsukishima scooted until his shoulder was against the wall, giving Yamaguchi as much room as possible. He opened his laptop. “Whaddyou wanna watch?”

“Hmm…how about a sci-fi movie you like,” Yamaguchi proposed. He wanted to get to know his friend better, and that could be done through his favorite movies. Tsukishima’s eyes lit up. He settled on one that involved dinosaurs and war. It didn’t really interest Yamaguchi, but he enjoyed the way Tsukishima got excited about the things he liked.

They stayed silent for a while, shoulder to shoulder. Neither of them moved. Yamaguchi was too scared, wanting to respect Tsukishima’s boundaries yet not quite knowing where they lied. He wished he’d give him a sign, just _anything_ to convey how he felt.

Tsukishima shifted beside him and their hands brushed. He inhaled sharply. Why did his touch drive him crazy like this? He had never felt this way about anyone before. The feeling was so foreign to him yet it felt so _right_.

Suddenly feeling bold, Yamaguchi reached out and brushed his hand against Tsukishima's. He gently interlaced their fingers.

They were holding hands. He was holding Tsukishima's hand. _He was holding Tsukishima's hand!_ "Is this okay?" he asked softly, not wanting to overstep his bounds.

Tsukishima nodded silently. His eyes never left the computer screen. He felt stiff beside Yamaguchi, though he couldn't tell if it was discomfort or nerves. Maybe both. He hoped he wasn't making the boy uncomfortable. Yamaguchi could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He rubbed slow circles across the top of Tsukishima's hand with his thumb. He wondered if it was too much. For all he knew, Tsukishima might not even feel the same way.

Eventually, Yamaguchi felt his eyes close and his mind wander…

POV TSUKISHIMA

Every fiber of his being felt like it was being electrified. Yamaguchi was right next to him, on his bed, sleeping. His head rested against his shoulder. Their fingers were intertwined. The green haired boy fell asleep almost as soon as the movie started, and eventually, his head drooped onto Tsukishima’s shoulder. He enjoyed the light pressure. He felt his face grow hot. Why was this boy able to drive him crazy with just the slightest touch? It made him angry. He silently cursed the butterflies that fluttered in his stomach.

Tsukishima sighed. His feelings scared him, though he would never admit it. He didn’t know if he liked guys. His sexual orientation had never really crossed his mind until he encountered Yamaguchi at the bus stop. It made his heart flutter just thinking about it. _Stop it_ , he thought angrily, squeezing his eyes shut. _Stop thinking about him. You’re not gay. You don’t like guys_.

But what if he did? Would it really be so bad?

Yamaguchi shifted in his sleep so that his head was nestled into Tsukishima’s chest. His flower crown tickled his neck. Tsukishima reached to adjust it slightly so it didn't fall onto his nose. His hands lingered, involuntarily smoothing his hair. He cringed and retracted his hand. _What am I doing?_ he chided himself. He gulped and tried to focus on the movie, but what was the point? He’d seen it a thousand times anyway.

Instead, he studied Yamaguchi’s face. His smudged black eyeliner, the shadows under his eyes. His hair felt soft against Tsukishima’s chin. Just like his hands, his nose had a splash of freckles. He found it endearing. They remind him of stars; oh, how he longed to trace those constellations with his fingertips.

He swore to himself that he’d draw them the next time he got the chance.


End file.
